Projects

Modern Classicisms

Please note: This comeptition will open for entries in late September 2017.

Win £500 worth of cash prizes and have your artwork displayed in a major exhibition on Modern Classicisms at King’s in spring 2018.

Modern Classicisms is a new major competition, open to staff and students at King’s and the Courtauld Institute of Art, which asks you to reflect on what Modern Classicism's mean to you.

The legacy of classical Greek and Roman antiquity is all around us – not least here in London: in our buildings, in our galleries, even in modern-day advertising. The stories of classical mythology have shaped our modern self-understanding; classical statues have moulded ideas about what our bodies are or should be; likewise, the classical past has been exploited for various ideological ends – in fashioning ideas about class, for example, and not least about ‘good’ and ‘bad’ art.

But what does this legacy mean to you? What do you understand the ‘classical’ to be? Where do you see its influences? How do you respond to it? Is the classical something beautiful, or oppressive? Is it something to celebrate – or something to subvert and challenge?

What are we looking for?

We invite entries that reflect on these and other questions, exploring the legacy of ‘classical’ Greek and Roman antiquity – whether as ideal, antitype or spur for reflection.

Entries can be made in any medium that lends itself for display – whether e.g. painting/drawing, small-scale sculpture, photography, film or poetry/short prose. We are looking for entries that are innovative, creative and original, and across the full spectrum of different academic schools, faculties and departments.

What will you win?

A selection of entries will feature in a major new exhibition: Modern Classicisms, held in Bush House in spring 2018. If selected, your work would feature alongside some of the biggest names in the contemporary art world (including Grayson Perry, Marc Quinn, Damien Hirst). Winners will be invited to the private opening of the show, and we will be awarding £500 worth of cash prizes on the night.

The deadline for submission of entries will be 6pm on Monday 22nd January 2018. To enter the competition, please complete the form here and follow its submission instructions.

To find out more about the Modern Classicisms project, and other activities over the 2017–2018 academic year, please visit www.modernclassicisms.com

Frequently asked questions:

Please download and complete the word form (pasting within it a photo or screenshot of your entry). The submission should then be brought to the Department of Classics Office (Room B3, North Wing, Strand Campus), any weekday between 9am and 5pm. Please note that the office is usually closed on Wednesday afternoons.

The sole restriction here is that we would like to display work as part of our spring 2018 exhibition. Entries could include small-scale sculpture, painting, photography, videos, text/poetry; if you would like to enter a text submission, you might want to think about how this could best be displayed.

This is in no way necessary – and your submission may well be all the stronger as a result! Note that members of the judging panel will also have diverse backgrounds, and we’re looking for innovative as well as creative responses to the brief.

There will be a six-person judging committee: it will include contemporary British artists, King’s/Courtauld academics (with different backgrounds) and a representative from the Cultural Institute. In order to maintain anonymity, the names of judges will not be published – but you should expect some high-profile names!